John's Birthday and a Full Life

Our lives have been so full that we haven't had time to blog. We're not even sure if anyone still checks our blog since we aren't doing anything out of the ordinary anymore. Our lives are much less interesting, but also much less stressful and also quite a bit happier. I (Claire) have been working hard at my new and different job in the Human Resources department at a large insurance sales company, and John has been trying to figure out how to manage his fifth/sixth split class. He's so happy to be back at Lakeview where he was before we left the country.





John's birthday was this past Friday (th 14th) and we went to Outback Steakhouse for his birthday dinner, to follow tradition. We reminisced about what we were doing last year at this time - going to the Outback in Santo Domingo for a completely different expercience. We're so glad to be home. Saturday morning, we took off for Angola to visit John's family. Mom Roth's specialty is making creative cakes for birthdays - and this year was no exception! She decided to go with a Dominican theme considering how the last year of our lives was spent, and she recreated one of the carnival masks from La Vega for John's cake. It was incredible!

Then, on Sunday, we stopped in Ft. Wayne on our way home to attend the Johnny Appleseed Festival that we talked about all year long since we missed it last year. We met my friend Jamie there and walked around soaking up the smells and sounds of autumn and enjoying the classic fall festival foods like apples and carmel and chicken and dumplings. Yum! We're so excited about fall this year! I'm going to make my first applie pie of the season tomorrow!

In other news, Gramma Verch gave us a quilt as a housewarming present. Here it is pictured in our living area. It's a quilt made of hundreds of different green material. It fits perfectly in our green themed spare bedroom. It took her years to collect the hundreds of materials for the quilt, so we feel lucky to have such a labor of love and family heirloom in our posession.

No Time to Rest (or Blog)

We have been INSANELY busy! We've moved into our apartment, and since we both work full time, we haven't had adequate time to unpack. It looks like a tornado went through our place, and every night after work and all weekend, we've been trying to find places for everything. It's very slowly starting to look like a home, but there are still boxes all over the place with towels, spatulas, purses, and random household items hanging out of them. We've got a long way to go.

Our new address:

1023 Persimmon Tree Circle

Bloomington, Indiana

47403

We've been so consumed with moving and unpacking that we haven't been eating dinner until 9:30 or 10:00 at night. We know that's normal dinner time for Dominicans, but it's never been normal for us. Yesterday, we finally got our Internet and cable hooked up, so we should be more active on the world wide web.

With the help of my younger brother, Jesse, we built our own entertainment center. Jesse welded the metal frame together, and we stained, sanded, and assembled the wood part. It was a lot more work than we expected, but now we feel like we've really invested in that particular piece of furniture.

A Job for Claire and a Few Other Tidbits

So, we've been really busy! All of a sudden, John had a job, then I got a job, and now we're moving into an apartment. I didn't get a teaching job this year, which made me so sad (and still does) that I can't really think about it for very long. I do, however, have a different kind of job than I have ever had before. I'm working for a company called Bloom Marketing Group in the human resources department. My official title is "recruitment specialist" which really means that I screen and interview candidates for the hundreds of open positions at Bloom MG. I hired my first person today.

Even though it's not teaching, I think this job will provide me with a different kind of experience that will ultimately be valuable. Working in a human resources department, I'll get lots of experience dealing with people, which can only be good. So far, the office is a pleasant place to work, even though things are kind of crazy right now because next week, Bloom is moving to a new building.

We're moving into our apartment on Wednesday, and we decided we would drive up to John's parent's house this past weekend to get all of the things we stored there last year. John's parents were flying into Indianapolis really late Friday night, and we decided to surprise them by meeting them at the airport and then continuing up to Angola with them. We made signs that said "Mom" and "Dad" so we could stand there and hold the signs while they were walking down the long hallway.... they saw us from pretty far down the hall and laughed all the way. It was great, and they said it was a much needed perk after a not-so-smooth trip.

John's brother Joe and his fiancee Narissa bought their first house, and we got to see it while we were visiting. We had some family fun at their house before they came to help us load the truck with all our stuff. Then, John decided to try something totally weird: an ear wax candle. This hollow candle is supposed to draw the wax out of your ears while it burns - but you have to stick the non-burning end into your ear. As it turns out, it works. If you would like photographic proof, email me and I'll send you a picture. That's just too gross to put on a blog!

In other news, my brother, Jesse has left for college, but before he left, he gave some rides in his sandrail. Believe it or not, my grandmother (Gramma Verch) wanted to take a spin in Jesse's sporty vehicle. She had a great time tooling around with him with the wind whipping her hair around. I got to take a ride, too. It was fun, and we really miss having Jesse around.

A Job for John!

Good News!!! Last Thursday at noon, John got a call from the principal of Lakeview Elementary, the school John had to leave when we moved to the Dominican Republic. The new principal, Tommy Richardson, asked John if he would be ready at a moment's notice to teach a 5th/6th split class. An older teacher at Lakeview might retire this year, but we're not sure yet, he told John. By Thursday night, it was a sure thing, and John was welcomed back to the school he was so sad to leave a year ago.



John will be on a temporary sub contract until November when the teacher whose place he is taking officially retires. We are so happy and grateful to God for this miracle. We really feel like it's a miracle. John has spent the last few days frantically trying to get a barren classroom ready for the first day of school (Wednesday). We figured out that (in spite of the fact we thought we were so smart when we packed all of our stuff up) half of the stuff John needs for his classroom is in storage in Angola... bad news. We think we might take an emergency trip up there this coming weekend to pick it up. We're just so thrilled that he has a job!



I, however, am still unemployed. Today, I applied for an editing job at a local marketing agency. We'll see how that goes. I've been spending my time helping my parents fix up their house. This week is official "Home Improvement Project" week, and today we put down a new floor in the laundry room. Pictures are forthcoming. Jesse, my brother, has made us a really cool frame for a TV table, and tomorrow, I'll most likely stain the wood for it. Also, last week, I got to spend the day with Jamie, my best friend, at the Indianapolis Art Museum and an old mansion/museum that belonged to the Lily family in the 1920s. We had a fantastic time, and that was the day John got the call from Lakeview, so I might say it was the best day so far this summer.



Coming shortly will be pictures of John in his classroom (that amazingly includes a TV, an LCD projector in the ceiling, five computers, and three printers not to mention all the paper, scissors, pencils, markers, etc. that a teacher could want) at school. Hoorah for the U.S. public school system! We certainly appreciate it a whole lot more after last year.

Our Third Anniversary

Man how time flies. Claire and I celebrated our wedding anniversary yesterday, August 7, making it 3 years now. It was a year ago to the day that we moved to the Dominican Republic to start our time there so we both figured no matter how we spent the day this year nothing could be as nerve racking and scary as that.

I started the celebration by telling Claire to pack an overnight bag the morning of the 6th. She had no idea where we were going but was forewarned that I had planned an activity for that day. After I ran some earrands in the morning we loaded our things and headed north to Indianapolis. It wasn't until we checked into the room that Claire discovered the first part of the surprise: a desert themed room. I had done some research online and found a hotel that had theme suites. Such themes included: Arabian Nights, Cesar's Court, Cupids Corner, Pharaoh's Chamber, Jungle Safari, and a few others. I choose the Desert Nights room for the large whirlpool and the octagonal bed. The rooms and the hotel probably aren't the most romantic setting in the world, you wouldn't want to honeymoon in a place like this, but it was a fun-something-different-kind-of-thing to do for a night. After we reached our room I revealed the second half of my surprise to Claire: I had packed a picnic for us to enjoy that night in our Dessert suite along with bringing along some games and the laptop with some DVDs to watch.

After a quick snack on the picnic items which included a couple different types of cheese, bread, crackers, strawberries, and blueberries, we decided that we were going to need some bubbles in our whirlpool later on that night. So we found a Wal Mart and picked up the necessary items. Then it was off for dinner at a local brewery that we spotted on our way into town. We decided it would be better to eat at a local place then to settle for a place we have been to before. It was fun try a new place and a few different tastes.

After dinner it was back to the room for the night. Our first order of business was filling the whirlpool up and putting in the bubbles. Once the water was just above the jets, we turned it on. In a matter of seconds we had more bubbles than either of us had ever seen coming out of a tub. When the bubbles started piling higher than the tub and started creeping up the mirror nearby we decided to shut off the jets. I would guess the bubbles were about 3 or 4 feet deep at one point. We had a great time playing around with the bubbles for the next hour or so designing all sorts of hats, facial hair, and clothing.

Afterward we set up the laptop and spent the rest of the night watching movies, playing Scrabble, and snacking out of the picnic basket.

In the morning, our anniversary, we decided to head to the Indianapolis Zoo and spend the day there. We saw all kinds of fun animals and a couple shows. My personal favorite was the Ocean exhibit. It might have partially been due to the fact that it was in an air conditioned building. During the day the temperature reached triple digits. Inside the Ocean building we had the opportunity to pet some sharks, watch a swimming polar bear, and see the penguins. After catching the dolphin show we getting up close with a bear we headed out to the Plains where we saw rhinos, giraffes, elephants, and the king of the jungle. After a picnic outside the park and our final stop before heading back to Bloomington we visited the White River Gardens. This is located next to the zoo and is included in the price of admission. Inside they have a butterfly room and an outdoor garden area. Despite the heat we had a great time together.

After getting cleaned up back home we finished off the night with dinner at Red Lobster and a stroll through leisurely Borders. The book store was a popular date spot for us while in college. It was just about the only place away from Huntington that we could go and spend time together.

Throughout the day we made reference to the fact that we would be landing in the D.R. or we would be getting into our apartment for the first time, or trying to settle our nerves enough to have dinner. Each time we talked about "this time last year," we were glad to be spending another year together back home.

Enjoying the Remainder of the Summer

The title of this post should really be Trying to Enjoy the Remainder of the Summer. We still don't have jobs - and it's a little difficult to enjoy yourself when you know there is no income on its way.

We attended the Demolition Derby again this summer, and I (Claire) have come to the realization that it has officially become a tradition. We attended the event with our friends Mark and Andrea and had about as good of a time as you can have at events like that. We had a hard time watching all of those running cars get smashed up since one of our cars was no longer running. If you want my complete (and unchanged since last year) opinion on the county fair, check out our first post on our other blog, Stepping Out of the Boat.

We've just been waiting around for some one to hire us as teachers, and we've been trying to entertain ourselves. Jesse, my brother, turned 21 on August 4th, and we had a little cook-out for him. He spent his real birthday out in Wyoming with Joel and Laura, but we celebrated early with family and friends.

We also had a great time teaching my mom and my Aunt Debbie (who stopped by to visit on her way home) how to Salsa and Merengue. We had lots of laughs together as we tried to teach them the steps and the proper hip movements. I think we spent the most energy laughing.

In other news, we bought another car from our friends Jason and Amy Lanham. They were gracious enough to give us a good deal, and now we are the proud owners of two old Hondas.

Harry Potter, the Pearl of Southern Indiana, and Bad Luck

Harry Potter

I (Claire) must admit that I am slightly obsessed with the Harry Potter books. That was a gross understatement. I am obsessed with them to an almost unhealthy level. In fact, it almost disturbs me because of how much I love the books. Don't worry - I'm not going to spoil the end of the whole story for those of you who have not yet read the book. I will simply say that as I approached the end of the book, I got simultaneously sad and happy because I knew when I would finish the book, that would be the end of the end, and also because I really wanted to know how the whole thing ended up. I laughed and cried as I read the book (the crying while reading thing is unusual for me), and I absolutely loved it. Let's just say that the end is fitting.

We made it back from our road trip in enough time to attend the Harry Potter party in the middle of the night at Borders when the book was released. I have never seen so many people in a bookstore in my life! I can honestly say that every piece of floor space was occupied by some one's feet from about 11:45 pm until 1:00 am. It was CRAZY! I was expecting it to be fun, but what really happened was that I had to stand so close to strangers that my personal space was seriously invaded. I was socially uncomfortable, and it was hot in there, too. But, I'm glad we went because that meant that we could start reading the book first thing in the morning.

John got the privilege of reading it first because I wanted to read the last one again before I read the new one. The deal was (since I'm a faster reader) that John could read the new one until I was finished with the 6th one, then I would get to catch up with him wherever in the story he was. He would get to finish from that point, and then I could finish second. This turned out to be a great plan since I have a hard time masking my reaction to what I read. In fact, John watched me read the last 150 pages or so because he was so entertained by my reactions. He even took video of me reading. I'm so sad that it's over, and it almost bothers me how affected I've been by the whole thing, but I think the reason I love it so much is that I've been following and loving all the characters for so long that I can hardly stand to know I'll never read more of their stories. I'm crazy for a good story, you know, especially one that involves the eternal struggle between good and evil represented by colorful and interesting characters. I guess I still have the movies to look forward to, but I'm always disappointed at how much they have to leave out. John loved the book, too, but he managed to read it with a straight face.

The Pearl of Southern Indiana

We went down to French Lick, Indiana today to visit the recently renovated West Baden Hotel. It was most popular, I think, during the roaring 20s when the rich and famous went there to enjoy the hot springs nearby. Now, this amazingly beautiful hotel is nestled (or hidden) in the run-down town of French Lick and the surrounding farms. When we rounded the corner in the road so we had a nice view of the hotel, I could hardly believe it. It is so glamorous and richly ornate that it looks like it doesn't fit or belong anywhere near French Lick. It's like accidentally finding the Pearl of the World in an oyster you're eating at a backyard barbecue.

Mom and Dad Pontius, John, and I made the trip to see the hotel (and to have lunch at a roadside BBQ place Dad has been raving about for weeks). We had a great time, although it rained much of the time we were there. If you want to see some professional pictures of the outside of the hotel (definitely worth it), click here: http://www.cookgroup.com/historic_landmarks/

First, we went to lunch at the famous BBQ place, and it was great. Then, we went to see the hotels. It was a great time, and the beauty of the decor and architecture was almost overwhelming. I found a chaise lounge that I loved in the dome room of the West Baden Hotel. We took turns sitting in it.




Bad Luck
We have bad luck when it comes to cars. We thought that we were great with the car situation - two somewhat old but smooth-running cars that are completely paid for... well, the green car went capootz. We have to buy a new car, and we were not planning on that. I would write the stuff that the mechanic said went wrong with the motor, but I don't speak gobbledegook. If you want the details, call my dad. So- we're on the lookout for another somewhat old but smooth-running car.